


Bouncing off

by Yesthatsmynaturalcolour



Category: Fall Out Boy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Inspired By Tumblr, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-01
Updated: 2015-10-01
Packaged: 2018-04-24 06:16:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4908508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yesthatsmynaturalcolour/pseuds/Yesthatsmynaturalcolour
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Andy runs a popular fitness blog called Hurleyxvx, Joe runs a popular guitar/meme blog called jtrohman. <br/>Somehow they cross paths in the depths of the internet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Joe wouldn’t call himself famous, persay. He’s not famous, he’d never call himself that. He’s just...got a lot of people who follow him day to day online. Who ask him things everyday and know pieces of his life he’s shared. He’s been recognized in public at the store and that was pretty weird, but he’s a dude who plays guitar and runs a blog. Somehow, somewhere along the way he hit just the right number to be considered internet famous and real life connected with that. It’s a bit strange, but he doesn’t really care. He’s still the guy who posts too many photos of his dog and gets really into the new meme going around online. 

Someone asks him one day what his favorite bands are, and he replies, going on with his everyday life after that and posting some stuff about snails and snakes, when he sees a very….common thread of replies. ‘He’s got the same tastes in music as XVX!’ Which alright. Only everyone’s commenting it now, making more and more comparisons, there’s more to his name apparently and Joe lets his curiosity get the better of him and googles the guy. The first result is a blog on the same site as Joe, followed by his twitter, and vine. Joe opens both in another tab and clicks on the blog. A fitness blog? Apparently according to the description. Joe goes to close it because alright he’s got the same taste in music as a fitness blog, and probably hundreds of others. Then he actually sees the guy and damn.

He’s shirtless, hefting up weights, and he’s got more tattoos than Joe’d ever imagine getting. Brown hair and a ginger beard. Joe clicks the tag that says Me, and scrolls through all the photos of him among other people. Lifting weights a lot, food, apparently he’s a vegan, and then all his friends. Joe clicks the follow button without even thinking about it, and wakes up to the guy following him back the next day. The first few weeks he kind of feels a little regret, the guys hot but all he does is post gym stuff, and vegan food. The selfies he posts are the only thing stopping Joe from unfollowing at first, but slowly over time he genuinely likes reading about what the others doing. He likes everything, and tries not to grin when the other likes stuff of his back.

It’s not a long while of following one another, that he learns the guys name, and they talk for the first time over the message box. He posted one of his songs and usually around then is when he’d get all the asks, most of them the same. But the icon of the shield, and username is what makes him pay a lot more attention. 

‘Hey! Saw your cover, it’s really really good! I’ve been listening to your stuff this last month pretty much.’

Joe grins, and hits private reply. ‘Thanks! You’ve inspired me to start working out more, slowly getting there day by day!’

And then he gets a reply, and he replies, and soon it’s been three hours and Joe’s roommate is wondering if he’s even left the house at all today or touched the dinner that he made. Joe startles looking up and Pete’s staring at him. “Dude, Patrick made dinner. Food. You should eat….what are you doing anyway you're normally not on all day like this….I was able to actually study because you weren’t playing.”

Joe sighs, looking at the screen. “Talking to someone I met online, not a fan….well I guess they are now but I’m also a fan...I don’t know.” Pete raises an eyebrow.

“What’s their name?” And fuck Joe has no idea. Blue eyes going wide and Pete laughs leaving the room and he spins back to message the other back, replying to his message and asking him holy shit what’s your name. He gets back the name Andy with a sunglasses emoji and it’s pretty fucking great. 

“Andy.” He grins, and Pete looks at him for a long moment before turning and leave. Joe ignores him and goes back to talking with Andy. From there, things only grow more and more. They start mentioning one another in posts. Joe posts about Andy helping him get in shape, and suggesting music stuff. Andy posts about working out to Joe’s music and how the stupid memes Joe post actually brighten up his day a bit. They reblog one anothers selfies with dumb tags of how great the other person looks and link to one another's blogs in the sidebar. They message one another everyday, and eventually exchange skype to talk there. Laughing about things, Andy’s really into Star Wars and so is Joe so they end up talking a lot about that. Joe learns more and more about him everyday.

He lives only about an hour or so away, in a house with five other guys that they call Fuck City. He plays the drums, and Joe convinces him to send some of his music and feels the need to ask him to do some work with him because that be amazing. He’s vegan, and straight edge and the last one makes Joe sit on the edge of his seat because he’s most certainly not. Andy says he doesn’t judge, sending happy faces saying everyones going to do what makes them happy he’s just found his. Pete keeps giving him looks, when his phone buzzes with a message and his face lights up. There eating dinner together one night when it finally comes up.

“So….Andy.” Pete says, and Patrick’s eyes go wide looking at Pete. 

“What about Andy?” Joe asks, spinning the spaghetti around his spoon more than he needs to. 

“Are….I mean are you two dating?” Joes eyes go wide and he looks up, nearly dropping the fork, and Patrick chokes on his own bite looking away like he wanted to know to but Pete was more blunt.

“No? I mean…..No. I don’t even know if he’s gay or, or whatever he is….” Joe never felt right to ask, he thinks he remembers a conversation about a girlfriend, but that doesn’t mean he assumes Andy’s all straight either, or whatever. Pete hums, in a knowing bullshit way and Joe flings a meatball at him. He doesn’t want to think too hard about this thing he’s got going on with Andy. He complains about his roommates a little that night, Andy listens because he’s a saint, and its alright. 

Joe asks Andy to do some work with him, on the drums and Andy doesn’t respond for a good hour before saying sure, but could they video call one another first? And Joe wasn’t ready for that response. He’s never actually heard Andy talk, he’s never heard what he sounds like. He imagines so many things and judging by Andy’s body, he’s imaging this gruff and wildman kind of voice. He gets the exact opposite, right out of the field pretty much. Andy’s waving. 

“Hey! You can see me right?” It’s….it’s not Joe’s staring before nodding.

“Oh. Oh yeah sorry sorry I can see you just fine!” Of course his voice sounds like that, of course. So soft and caring, just like Andy his personality fits the voice. They talk for hours again, about music, Andy picks his laptop up and shows Joe his kit, and it’s really pretty teal and swirled. He’s apparently got another one that his roommates use. They don’t get any work done but Andy makes a post late in the night about having a fantastic time talking some stuff out with Joe and to look forward to that and it makes him grin. Skype calls become a regular thing, and yeah sometimes they fall asleep on one another, and once Joe wakes up and Andys still there fast asleep and it’s….it makes him feel complete. He gets more work done than he ever did before and starts putting songs out regularly. The first time he gets an ask and he stops. Staring. There asking if him and Andy are dating and he doesn't know how to reply so he ignores it, and then he gets more, and he wonders if it’s just him or is Andy ignoring them to. 

“Are we dating?” Joe chokes on his soda coughing and trying to breath and looks up at Andy on the skype screen. He’d been writing a song and Andy had been playing a game neither of them really talking to one another but enjoying the company all the same.

“What?” He finally gets out when he breathes again, Andy is just clicking though. Like his question isn’t anything.

“We talk everyday, we have skype dates and you’ve called them that. We know just about everything about one another. We say we love one another when people ask us about one another…..are we dating?” Joe sits back, and frowns.

“I...I guess we are when you ask about it?” Andy hums.

“Okay cool because I’ve been getting so many questions about it these last few weeks, even my Mom asked me who this guy Matt keeps talking about is.” He clicks again and Joe hears the echo of a gunshot in game and sound of the team winning. “Can I have your phone number then?” Joe laughs and nods.

“um...Yeah yeah of course.” So they exchange numbers and finish up the date and Joe’s sitting at the dinner table when he decides to tell the others.

“Andy and I are dating.” He says proudly, and the two look at him and frown.

“Yeah? We’ve known for awhile buddy.” Pete says, patting the others back. “But thanks for telling us. It’s your turn to make dinner.” 

Alright then.


	2. Chapter 2

“The guys want to move.” Andy says softly, over skype one night. Joe had been tuning some of the guitars he didn’t normally take care of and Andy had been silent, some clicking telling Joe he’d been doing something but overall….he hadn’t really been talking until now. 

“Oh?” He asks softly, looking up. There’s some photos of him and Andy stuck up around the wall around the laptop. Some of just Andy, eating a donut and smiling at Joe, playing the drums, laying in bed with the sheets from Joe’s bed tangled around him. An hour was really worth it for the stuff they did together. “What’s wrong with the house? I thought you’d just gotten everything perfect.” 

Andy doesn’t say anything for a long while and Joe looks up from where he’s fiddling with the pieces of guitar, and the others just...kind of sitting there looking a lot lost and a lot confused. “Babe?” He asks carefully and Andy looks up sighing.

“I guess, time for a change. We’d been talking about moving into a bigger house, a new scene and everything only...only I guess I never thought they’d consider moving out of state and now theres this place in Oregon...Portland and it’s got a bunch of windows and just on top of a big hill and overlooking they were showing me pictures and it’s really nice and I don’t know what to do.” He rambles, spilling everything he’s probably been thinking about all night and Joe doesn’t know what to say at first. Because Andy sounds like he wants this as much as the other guys….but.

“You don’t want to leave me.” Andy nods shifting to pull his knees up and wrap his arms around them looking at Joe, confused and lost. Joe doesn’t quite know what to say, or do. “Do it….for a little while. We can try the long distance thing, I mean we kind of are already half way there….we’ll still have skype dates. I’ll just have to buy you a plane ticket to get in my bed.” He gets a smile at that. “But don’t stay there because of me….follow the other guys around the world and back, do things that make you happy and you want to do. I’ll always be here on the other side of this screen, loving you as much as always.” And shit the look on Andy’s face makes him want to get in the car and drive that hour to his house. He looks relieved, and upset all at once and it’s giving Joe his own torn emotions.

“I love you.” He mumbles into his knees and Joe smiles.

“I know.” He teases back getting Andy to grin a bit. 

And he drives down when the guys finally buy the house and sell the old, he helps Andy and the guys pack their cars up and get their stuff together. Flinging forks at Matt and getting tackled for it. He helps them pack up the house he’s grown familiar with in almost what’s been a year and then, it comes and Joe wasn’t sure how he didn’t think out this plan more. Andy holds onto him tight, and Joe holds back just as tight and there both crying. It’s awful and ugly and the guys give them their space.  
“I’ll always be here for you.” He whispered. “I’ll never stop loving you, i’ll just learn to cherish holding you so much more.” Andy makes a noise in his chest and Joe sighs. They kiss, wet from tears and it’s not goodbye it’s I’ll see you soon as I can and it doesn’t feel good at all. 

Joe drives home and plays the guitar all night until Pete puts his hands on the others shoulders and guides him to bed. Andy sends him pictures from the drive, and from Taco Bell? Which he has to ask if it’s vegan and Andy mocks him but never really gives him an answer. He sends pictures of the house, and them moving in. Sends him pictures of unpacking and the internet man coming and Joe feels a little better when the face comes up on his screen. He’s sitting in front of a beautiful view that’s apparently their front yard.

“The internet man is a good man.” Andy praises and Joe laughs. “The house is a wreck of boxes and bubble wrap but I can show you around if you want?” And Joe works on his guitars watching Andy lead him around the house, he writes music while Andy unpacks, it’s kind of like nothing has changed really. He can almost pretend it’s going to be long and far before they can hug, before anything can really happen. They skype every night still, Andy shows him the house slowly as it comes together. His room with the stupid things Joe’s given him tucked away in little spaces that stand out all at once. All the photos Andy has of them together and of Joe placed around the room. They fall asleep on skype together and text one another throughout the day. Joe sends pictures from texts and sends him short videos playing the guitar and Andy sends the dumbest duck face gym selfies Joe has ever seen and it’s hilarious.

“I miss you.” Andy says one night laying in bed and Joe nods, because yeah he does to. “You should come visit soon, I can pitch in for the plane ticket and you can look around at the house in person.” They plan out a trip, and they’ve been handling the last few months pretty well, but Joe’s glad to be laughing against Andy’s mouth holding his face at the airport. They go to a food place Andy texts him about a lot, and Andy shows him the house, they play together and fall asleep watching some shitty movie curled around one another. Joe spends a week living this life walking to the store with Andy and laughing about vegan food stores and there names for things, waking up to him and making breakfast together Joe’s arms wrapped around the other while he cooked. Then before he knows it, he has to go home and it’s not an easy goodbye. 

Joe posts some songs, and doesn’t really do much else for the next week finally getting up and going for a run. They return of skyping at night together and texting during the day, sometimes skyping happens for the whole day when neither of them have anything to do. Joe wonders how he functioned alone before Andy because this last year has been pretty much working, writing, and Andy. They make songs together, and it’s okay. Some days are better than others like any relationship. Some days Joe wonders how there making this work at all not being able to see on another for months at a time, and sometimes he gets how their doing it. 

Joe dyes a piece of his hair pink, or better yet Pete’s dying his hair pink and somehow gets Joe to let him do his to which he didn’t think was possible with his curls but man does Pete pull it off. Andy laughs the whole night but he keeps getting this fond look in his eyes. He says he likes it and if it wasn’t such a pain Joe should keep it. Joe teases him right back saying he should dye his hair pink and they stay up way too late laughing and talking about how much they miss one another.

He comes to visit a few weeks later, closing in on Joe’s birthday and they spend at least half the week in bed and Joe could give less fucks. They play music together on Patrick’s drums and go to the park, and this goodbyes harder than the last but they manage it by some miracle and Joe feels like shit afterwards. He doesn’t want to say goodbye, he wants to say stay. He wants Andy to stay but he also can’t ask that from Andy, his crew has been apart of his life for so long….and he wouldn’t be happy living in a big smoggy city with no real parks and trees. 

He’s playing in the living room when Pete flops down next to him, looking around their shitty living room before he speaks. “Why don’t you go live with him?” Joe looks up, and then turns to Pete slowly, like the asshole had been reading his mind the last few weeks or something. 

“Who? Andy?” Pete nods. “I….” He doesn’t know really, because he can get why he can’t ask Andy to move back….but what’s stopping him from moving out there? “Because we’ve only been dating for...well almost two years now…..and I’ve got a home here.” He defends.

“You’ve got me, and Patrick. That’s it, you don’t have a job, or anyone else you hang out with the only reason you go outside is to walk your dog or run.” Which alright he has a point but man his life, and before Andy he didn’t even go for runs. He use to be in a band but it was only for a year or two before even that didn’t work out everyone having other things going on in their lives. 

“Living together and dating are two different things…” He adds and Pete just rolls his eyes laughing.

“Yeah but you're both miserable not being able to see one another for months at a time. You’ve seen one another once this year alone, and had to celebrate birthdays on Skype. I mean I see Andy on the other side of that screen a lot man and he looks just about as happy as this as you. I get he’s living where he wants to live and he’s that guy whose one with nature and all things about it but he also probably wishes you were with him.” 

He can’t get that conversation out of his head for the rest of the day. Thinking about it, and maybe Pete’s right? Andy picks up somethings wrong over Skype right away looking at him and frowning after 20 minutes into the conversation. “Your frown, and not talking, or even working what’s up?” Joe shakes his head.

“Pete said something today and I can’t get it out of my head.” He says, Andys brows furrow.

“Do I need to fight Pete? I’ll fight him.” Joe can’t help but laugh, because Andy trying to fight Pete just sounds hilarious in his mind. Andy would feel so bad if he ever hurt anyone and Pete would rather never fight ever. He shakes his head.

“Thanks for defending me honey.” He teases. “No no...he just. Urgh….I don’t know he asked why don’t we live together.” He admitted. “Which is dumb, and I don’t know why I keep trying to rationalize my own reasons but your, you and you have your own-”

“Do you want to live with me?” Joe stops, looking at Andy sitting at his desk watching Joe. 

“I...I mean of course I do, fuck anything is better than this shitty tiny house and being hundreds of miles away from you. I’d take to living down the road if it meant i could be with you….” Andy’s smiling, wide and warm and one Joe rarely ever gets out of him. 

“So live with me.” 

“But I mean you ha-Wait. Wait. What?” He’s pretty sure, but not a hundred percent. Andy laughs at him still wearing that wonderful smile.

“Live with me. If you want to, you know all my roommates, and our life and stuff. We all play instruments. Live with me.” So many thoughts are running through Joes head at this, so many.

“I’m not vegan, or straightedge. I drink, and smoke. I smoke a lot I’m surprised you haven’t broken up with me for it. But you are pretty much a saint….and I complain a lot and drink out of the carton.” Andy’s laughing again shrugging.

“I mean, don’t smoke inside the house and we should be okay. Not being vegan is fine to we’ve got a big enough fridge to make a place for whatever you want to eat…..I it was funny Matt was talking to me the other day asking why you didn’t live with us already and I told him what you said, you had your own life….I didn’t think you wanted to.” Joe makes a face at that remark.

“I want to. I do. I want to wake up to you every morning and play guitar in the bed while you workout and….urgh I’m going to get emotional.” They're both laughing, and so Joe starts to plan.

He packs up his hundreds of guitars, and anything else he needs and has it sent to Andy….or their place now? Packs the rest into his car and spends a day saying goodbye to Pete and Patrick and he hates this part because they’ve been living together for 10 years of Joe’s life but. It’s time to go, move on and go on with their lives. Joe drives across the country to be with someone he’s only dated for two years and for once it feels more like living for himself instead of expectations of him. Andy’s sitting on the porch when he pulls up talking to the guys and his face just brightens and Joe is hugging him in a moment, and he realizes this is. He’s going to have this until they decide they're done, which he hope is never, but...there together now. He’s home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is probably one of my least favorite works I've done.  
> However, a dear friend of mine is the one who requested it be reposted because it was written for her, so here it is my dear.


End file.
